My little tank was finished about a year ago. One hell of a kit Trumpeter made, over 800 parts and at times a difficult build. The nice thing with tanks is that generally painting is quite straightforward and you can have a bit of fun weathering. I added a few extra details myself, metal headlights and other lenses, and a grassy base I made myself from pre-made moorland slabs from Faller.

This Spruce has been one of my favourites for years. It started as a simple, half dead, christmas tree bought cheaply and pruned rigorously.

Last year it got it’s first bit of wiring which already lifted it from tree in pot, to something almost Bonsai.

After some very full and healthy growth this spring I thought it was ready for some “final” forming. I mostly just pruned the middle and the top to get a more layered look. It might need some more, the tophat it has now needs to be more refined, but that can wait till next year.

I was planning to build a proper Gundam for a long while. After much pottering around I decided on the Sinanju Stein, primarily because I like its design, it is a nice and beefy Master Grade kit, but also because I like spending hours on decals and the Ver. Ka. versions deliver these in boatloads. It being my first proper Gundam I overestimated my skills a bit and decided I would also do some custom details, metal effects, pearl effects and a fully painted inner frame. Needless to say this one took me a while, 3 months to be more precise.

I am quite satisfied by the result though, Bandai really makes amazing kits!

Since my “Chicken Proofing” post I was planning to make some nice benches for my Bonsai. I finally got to it even though ALL chickens got eaten by a fox overnight. *Poof* and they’re gone, I miss them, they were almost tame enough to eat out of my hands.

RIP Feathery Assholes.

But ey, life goes on, there are Bonsai to spoil, so off it was to the local building market to get some wood and fittings.

In The Netherlands you can get these metal fittings to secure beams to a flat surface, which when turned over make a perfect scaffold for Bonsai benches.

After a flip over and some poles in the ground there you go.

Which look even better with some Bonsai on them, plus it makes your wooly thyes tingle with manliness.

I’m sorry people, it’s been a while. The last month was filled with a three week trip to Japan and a mini festival in my garden, so updating this warped ego-vehicle of a blog has been a bit lower on my agenda. I hope a few tree-oriented photos from the trip will make up for it at least a little bit.

Mossy Birch forest in Hokkaido.

A well maintained and impressive pine near the Golden Pavilion in Kyoto.